SimEx-Iwerks

SimEx-Iwerks is an entertainment technology company serving the amusement, visitor-attraction, and destination-entertainment industries. Its work combines specialized film production and distribution with projection systems, motion simulation, immersive cinema, ride engineering, and attraction development. The company’s capabilities are organized around three broad activities: attractions development; content licensing, production, and distribution; and technology and engineering services. The business reflects the combination of two historically distinct enterprises. SimEx originated in Toronto through the development of Tour of the Universe, an immersive attraction created for the CN Tower in 1984 by Michael Needham and Moses Znaimer. Iwerks Entertainment was founded in Burbank, California, in 1985 by former Disney executives Don Iwerks and Stan Kinsey. Iwerks was named in honor of Don Iwerks’s father, Ub Iwerks, the pioneering animator, inventor, Disney business partner, and co-creator of Mickey Mouse. During the 1980s and 1990s, SimEx and Iwerks developed separate but related approaches to location-based entertainment, combining large-format film, motion platforms, special venues, and themed experiences. Iwerks became known for technologies such as 8/70 projection for Extreme Screen theaters and the two-seat TurboRide motion system. The company also expanded its engineering capabilities through the acquisition of the assets of McFadden Systems in late 1999. McFadden had previously been involved in the development of motion-simulator technology for Warner Bros. Movie World’s Batman Adventure – The Ride. These technologies helped establish Iwerks as a supplier of both hardware and integrated attraction systems rather than solely a film producer. The combined SimEx-Iwerks business has supplied immersive 3D and 4D cinematic attractions, motion-simulation rides, flying theaters, and nature-based attractions to institutions, amusement parks, museums, science centers, tourism destinations, and other public venues. The group states that more than 350 attractions have been built in over 40 countries and that its active film library contains more than 125 titles. Its projects typically require coordination among content owners, venue operators, architects, ride engineers, projection specialists, and local installation partners. The company’s history also includes recognition from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Don Iwerks received the Gordon E. Sawyer Award in 1998 for technological contributions to motion pictures. In 2000, Iwerks engineer L. Ron Schmidt received an Academy Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Linear Loop Film Projector. A major corporate transition occurred in 2024. The former SimEx-Iwerks parent company was dissolved in Toronto through proceedings under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. A management group purchased the company’s assets and continued the business and its brand legacy. From June 1, 2024, the operating company traded as SimEx Iwerks, with operations headquartered in Maryland. The current business therefore represents a continuation of the SimEx-Iwerks operating platform under a new ownership structure, rather than an uninterrupted continuation of the former Canadian parent entity.

SimEx-Iwerks emerged from the convergence of two strands of location-based entertainment technology: SimEx’s immersive attraction work in Canada and Iwerks Entertainment’s film, projection, and motion-simulation development in the United States. SimEx’s origins are associated with Tour of the Universe, an attraction created for Toronto’s CN Tower in 1984 by Michael Needham and Moses Znaimer. The project helped establish a Canadian base for high-tech visitor experiences that used cinematic presentation and specialized venue systems. During the 1980s, SimEx pursued a model centered on immersive attractions created in partnership with destinations and institutions. Iwerks Entertainment was founded in Burbank, California, in 1985 by Don Iwerks and Stan Kinsey, both former Disney executives. The company’s name honored Don Iwerks’s father, Ub Iwerks, who had been Walt Disney’s first business partner and a co-creator of Mickey Mouse. Iwerks developed technologies intended for large-scale and location-based presentation, including 8/70 projection systems for Extreme Screen theaters and the two-seat TurboRide motion system. Its work placed equal emphasis on the visual presentation of films and the mechanical systems that made audiences feel physically involved in an attraction. In 1998, Don Iwerks received the Gordon E. Sawyer Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The award recognized his lifetime contribution to the science and technology of motion pictures. Iwerks expanded its simulator expertise in late 1999 by acquiring the assets of McFadden Systems. McFadden had been approached by Warner Bros. Movie World in 1992 to develop a simulator for Batman Adventure – The Ride, linking the acquired technology to the themed-attraction market. Iwerks received a second Academy recognition in 2000, when L. Ron Schmidt was awarded for the concept, design, and engineering of the Linear Loop Film Projector. These distinctions underscored the company’s technical role in film presentation and attraction engineering. Over time, the SimEx-Iwerks platform developed into a multinational supplier of immersive entertainment. Its offerings included 3D and 4D cinema, motion-simulation rides, flying theaters, nature-based attractions, film-based software, simulation hardware, and related services. The company worked with amusement parks, museums, institutions, tourism destinations, and other venue operators. According to the company description summarized in reference material, the group built more than 350 attractions across over 40 countries and maintained an active library of more than 125 films. The former parent company, SimEx-Iwerks Inc., was based in Toronto and maintained additional locations in Baltimore, Maryland, and Santa Clarita, California. In 2024, the Canadian parent entity was dissolved in Toronto through proceedings under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. A management group acquired the company’s assets and continued the operating business. The successor began trading as SimEx Iwerks on June 1, 2024, with operations headquartered in Maryland. This restructuring changed the corporate ownership and legal structure while preserving the brand’s attraction, content, and technology activities.

• 2024

  Business restructures under successor ownership

  [1]SimEx-Iwerksen.wikipedia.org

  The former Canadian parent was dissolved through CCAA proceedings, while a management group purchased the assets and continued the operation as SimEx Iwerks from June 1.

• 2000

  Linear Loop Film Projector receives Academy recognition

  [1]SimEx-Iwerksen.wikipedia.org

  L. Ron Schmidt received an Academy Award for the concept, design, and engineering of the Linear Loop Film Projector.

• 1999

  Iwerks acquires McFadden Systems assets

  [1]SimEx-Iwerksen.wikipedia.org

  Iwerks acquired the assets of McFadden Systems, expanding its motion-simulation and attraction-engineering capabilities.

• 1998

  Don Iwerks receives the Gordon E. Sawyer Award

  [1]SimEx-Iwerksen.wikipedia.org

  Don Iwerks received the Academy’s Gordon E. Sawyer Award for technological contributions to motion pictures.

• 1985

  Iwerks Entertainment is founded

  [1]SimEx-Iwerksen.wikipedia.org

  Former Disney executives Don Iwerks and Stan Kinsey founded Iwerks Entertainment in Burbank, California.

• 1984

  Tour of the Universe is created at the CN Tower

  [1]SimEx-Iwerksen.wikipedia.org

  Michael Needham and Moses Znaimer created Tour of the Universe at Toronto’s CN Tower, an early foundation of SimEx’s immersive-attraction activities.

A specialist business-to-business provider of integrated immersive entertainment, combining attraction content, projection and motion technology, engineering, and operational support for parks, institutions, and destination venues.

• Large-format projection

  Extreme Screen theaters

  Large-format theatrical systems associated with Iwerks’s 8/70 projection technology. These installations were designed to deliver high-impact cinematic presentation in specialized venues and formed part of the company’s broader role as a supplier of film-based attraction technology.

• Motion simulation

  TurboRide

  A two-seat motion system developed by Iwerks for simulator and location-based entertainment applications. TurboRide combined synchronized physical movement with projected media to create an enclosed ride experience for attraction venues.

• Projection technology

  Linear Loop Film Projector

  A specialized film-projection system recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2000. Its concept, design, and engineering were credited to Iwerks engineer L. Ron Schmidt.

• Location-based entertainment

  Immersive 3D and 4D attractions

  Integrated cinematic attractions that combine stereoscopic or large-format imagery with environmental and physical effects. SimEx-Iwerks develops, licenses, produces, distributes, and engineers these experiences for parks, museums, institutions, and destination venues.

• Immersive simulation

  Flying theaters

  Immersive attraction systems that pair a projected journey with coordinated audience movement, creating the sensation of flight or aerial travel. They are part of the company’s broader attraction-development and technology-integration portfolio.

• Themed attraction

  Nature-based attractions

  Film- and technology-supported experiences focused on natural environments, wildlife, landscapes, and environmental storytelling. These attractions extend the company’s work beyond conventional amusement rides into educational and destination-based visitor experiences.

• 2024

  Continuation of operations after parent-company restructuringStrategy

  Background

  The former SimEx-Iwerks parent company was dissolved in Toronto through proceedings under Canada’s Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

  Action taken

  A management group purchased the company’s assets and continued the operation under the SimEx Iwerks name from June 1, 2024.

  Aftermath

  The business continued its attraction, content, and technology activities with operations headquartered in Maryland.

  Source

• 1999

  Acquisition of McFadden Systems assetsM&A

  Background

  Iwerks sought to strengthen its position in motion-simulation and themed-attraction technology. McFadden Systems had previously been involved in developing a simulator for Batman Adventure – The Ride.

  Action taken

  Iwerks acquired McFadden Systems’ assets in late 1999.

  Aftermath

  The transaction expanded Iwerks’s technical and engineering resources for motion-based attractions.

  Source

1. 1SimEx-Iwerksen.wikipedia.org